The return to normality, also known as the post-pandemic era, made people reset their habits and routines. Today we can go out again without problems, we can socialize almost completely normally again and the return to the office has also become a reality for many, although others have been more fortunate and have been able to maintain remote work, or at least a hybrid model.

Many people have done all this spend less and less time playing video games a reality that has a significant impact on the gaming sector. We have already seen in the results of major technology companies that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the return to normality ultimately negatively affected their quarterly results.

It is clear that this is not helped by the current economic situation, but we can consider it more of a secondary factor, since the key was ultimately a return to normalcy. Being able to spend more time away from home, travel again and return to work in the office means we consume less multimedia content, less video games and less technology in general.

According to data from a new study shared by NPD in the last quarter we closed this year video game spending fell to $1,780 million. This represents a decrease of 13% and reduces the total value of this market to $12,350 million. Connecting the dots, we see that everything fits, as both Sony, Microsoft, and even Nintendo closed the quarter with significant declines in their video game business units.

For example, Sony is having a golden moment with the PS5, as it sells every console it makes, in addition to selling software down 26%, a situation that has also affected Microsoft and Nintendo in the same way, although it continues to break records with the Nintendo Switch. Sales of video games and services have fallen, and this confirms something as clear as how simple it is now that people can go out, socialize, travel and do things outside You don’t need so many video games anymore.

This reduced need to play video games and the feeling of having to take advantage of our newfound freedom are undoubtedly two key factors that explain this decline in the video game market. In the midst of a pandemic and With restriction enabled, video games were one of the best ways to “kill time”but now the situation has completely changed, and as we see, he notices.

On the other hand, inflation and economic uncertainty also have a certain influence, as we said at the beginning of the article, this does not support the discussion. The aforementioned uncertainty has also reduced spending on video games, and I personally think that even the collapse of cryptocurrencies may have had a lot to do with their relationship to the technology sector and the average profiles of many of those who bet on this type of currency. We will see how the situation develops in the coming months, but there does not seem to be a recovery in the short term.